Wichita police officer charged with felony after crash while responding to 911 call

A Wichita police officer who was speeding to a 911 call has been charged with a felony after he crashed into another vehicle, officials said.

Officer Samuel Dugo was southbound on Broadway responding to a 911 report of a burglary in progress at around 10:38 p.m. on March 16 when he crashed his police Chevy Tahoe, Officer Paul Cruz said in a news release on Monday.

A man driving a westbound Ford Ranger had pulled out from a stop sign and attempted to cross the intersection of Pine and Broadway in downtown Wichita, Cruz said. The driver, Donald S. Clark, 71, of Bel Aire, was thrown through the front windshield, a Kansas Highway Patrol crash report states.

The Highway Patrol’s investigation determined that Dugo was driving 79 mph in an area of downtown where the posted speed limit is 30 mph, Cruz said. He was not using his emergency lights or sirens.

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Dugo was charged on June 19 with one count of aggravated battery-recklessly causing great bodily harm, court records show. His first appearance was scheduled for Monday. Dugo’s listed defense attorney, Jess Hoeme, did not immediately respond to a message from The Eagle seeking comment.

Dugo has been with the Wichita Police Department since 2016 and has been on unpaid leave since June, police said.

Two police officers are on administrative leave and a suspect is in the hospital after a man leads police on a high-speed chase through west Wichita and gets in a shootout with police. (Video by Candi Bolden / December 2017)

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